Goodbye 2009. Welcome 2010!

It was the best of the times and it was the worst of times. That somehow sums up what 2009 was for the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL).

It was indeed an eventful year with the KAKL going full steam in developing the sport in the city. Many landmarks were set over the last 12 months. The recognition of the second place in the Best Sports Association category for the KAKL by the Federal Territory Sports Department at the Mass Sports Sports Award was the highlight of the associations endeavour.

The initiation of the Premier League Kabaddi was a gamble that KAKL took and it has paid its dividends in unearthing many young players. The PLK also had its fair share of disappointment with some teams dropping out even before the season was over.

This was only an indication that the sport is still at its infancy and the march towards a more professional set-up is strewn with many hurdles and obstacles.

KAKL also organised a number other tournaments with the assistance of the Rakan Muda and City Hall. The Arasai-Kings of Kabaddi was another milestone, although, it too bared the ugly truth that we need to put discipline at the top of any programme.

KAKL also assisted various other groups including the Selangor Tamil Bell Youth CLub and the Malacca Multimedia University with their tournaments.

All of these competitions would have been even more exciting had we had better cooperation from the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM).

The KAKL was also at the forefont in initiating the inclusion of kabaddi in the Traditional Sports Carnival. KAKL officials not only fought for the inclusion but also travelled the country to conduct kabaddi introductory course for the Ministry of Sports Malaysia.

Unfortunately, KL were denied the right to play at the finals of the carnival by some unscrupulous manipulation by some officials.

With the KAKL being denied their rights of membership by the KAM, the KAKL lodged complaints with both the Olympic Council of Malaysia and the Sports Commissioners office. Both complaints are still pending but KAKL were also denied the chance to send a team to the national juniors championships in Johor Bahru.

Despite the issues with the national body, KAKL can take pride that it is still the best team in the country. And KAKL are prepared to take up the challenge with any team in the country to prove our worth.

KAKL also decided to create a state level Technical Officials course and the first course conducted this year yielded six new officials.

KAKL is looking to expand the course in 2010 and also start the KAKL Level One Coaching Certification.

The association also decided to honour the best players and officials with awards at a year ending annual dinner.

Despite the improvements, there are still many aspects that the KAKL needs to look into as the new year comes. We still have some outstanding financial issues that need to be settled as soon as possible.

We still need to ensure the standards set in 2009 is improved upon.

The KAKL would be organising the Second International Inter City Kabaddi Championships in March. We already have confirmation from teams from India, Nepal, US and are expecting teams from other countries to confirm their participation soon.

We are also in the midst of preparing our team for the Faridabad Gold Cup tournament in India as well as the Sukma in Malacca. We are the defending Sukma champions and are pretty confident of retaining the crown in June.

Our website has also shown steady increase in readership and we are proud that we have surpassed the 10,000 mark earlier this month.

We are planning a number of new things for the new year and would announce them soon.

As the year ends, we would like to thank all the KAKL members, players, officials, teams, clubs, the FT Sports Department, the Ministry of Sports, the FT Sports Council, KL City Hall and all the various individuals that made 2009 a year to remember.

Happy New Year from the president and council of the Kuala Lumpur Kabaddi Association.

New Photo Website

We have created a new photo website as our previous digest is already 99% full. The new photo site is http://picasaweb.google.com/klkabaddi2

The old site would still be accessible.

We have uploaded some pictures from Sukma 2008, IICKC 2008 and Faridabad 2008, which we managed to find from our archives.

Here are also some videos we managed to trace from Sukma and also the International Inter City in 2008

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We would like to wish all our friends a Merry Christmas!

Kudos to MMU

Kuala Lumpur clubs assisted in making the Multimedia University Melaka Campus Kabaddi championships organised by their Indian Cultural Society on Saturday a grand success.

Sri Devi Kabaddi club and Kg Pandan Lions made the trip to Melaka to participate in the championships.

The championship was the first time in recent times that a kabaddi tournament was organised in the state. Kudos to the MMU Indian Cultural Society (ICS) for their effort in developing and promoting the game in Melaka.



With kabaddi included at the Melaka Sukma next June, the effort by the Society would a long way in establising itself in Melaka.

Sri Devi defeated Kg Pandan Lions 37-28 in the final while ICS defeated Cyber MMU 42-8 in the playoff for third place.

The Sri Devi team at the tournament was a mix of players from the club and the Selayang kabaddi club.

The tournament was held for the Under-23 men's category with a 80kg limitation.

KL officials assisted in all technical aspects of the tournament following the last minute pullout from the tournament by officials from the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM) coming from Negri Sembilan.

Despite the pullout, KL officials with the enthusiastic support from ICS, the championships went on without any hitch.

Players from Melaka also gained plenty of experience playing against some of the best players in the country.

The MMU ICS have their own Facebook account here.

Beware of Trolls!!!

This entry is dedicated to the individuals who have trying hard to create animosity between the clubs affiliated to the KAKL.

They have actively attempted to do so by making unwarranted statements in the comment pages of the blog claiming to be members of the KL clubs. Their attempts to pit KL clubs against each other has so far failed.

These individuals have also been actively making prank calls to kabaddi teams outside KL claiming to be KL clubs and insluting them.

The KAKL is not too concerned with these Trolls, who have no interest whatsover in the development of the sport.

But it always better to be wary of this unsavoury characters.

Comment Moderation

We have always believed in open discussion on all matters related to the KAKL and its activities and we will still believe for the need of open discussion.

That was the reason why we had left our comment features in this blog unmoderated.

However, the KAKL is concerned by the spate of abuse by those leaving comments. We believe that these type of abuse is being engineered to create unnecessary problems.

As there are many youngsters also actively reading this blog, we are now forced to put in the safety features. All comments will now be moderated before being published.

We will continue to publish all comments regardless of whether it was in favour or criticising the KAKL. However, any comments with four letter and other abusive words would be deleted immediately.

We hope to unmoderate the blog in the near future once we find these abusive readers have learnt some decorum and manners of using public forum.

New dates for IICKC

The Kuala Lumpur International Inter City Kabaddi Championships has been rescheduled for March 4-7, 2010 at the Stadium Tertutup Titiwangsa.

The change was made because of various reasons but most importantly because of the KL teams participation at the Faridabad Gold Cup in early January. The change was also to accomodate the request from DBKL as the venue was not available on the original dates.

The change in the dates would also help KL prepare much stronger teams for the championships. The championships would serve as a good exposure for the KL Sukma squad.

This years championships has once again received the support from the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan and the Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan apart from the DBKL.

KAKL in in the midst of securing other corporate sponsors for the championships.

Apart from teams from Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, the championships would see several foreign cities participating.

To date teams from Kathmandu, New Delhi and Chennai have all confirmed their participation,

Defending champion Patialla of Punjab is also expected to confirm their participation.

KAKL expects a number of teams from Sri Lanka, India, Singapore and also at least one team from Europe to confirm their entry soon.

Final Phase

The final phase of training for the Kuala Lumpur team participating at the International Gold Cup tournament in Faridabad India is currently in progress.

The team is expected to leave for Faridabad on January 7 with the tournament scheduled from January 8-10.

Teams from at least seven countries including India, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka are expected to take part in the tournament.

The Kuala Lumpur team finished runners-up at the tournament last year.

The Kuala Lumpur team to the championships is expected to be different from the side that played last year as emphasis would be given to the KL Sukma players.


Last years tournament match between teams from Afghanistan and Nepal

Despite sending a younger team, Kuala Lumpur still expects to do well at the tournament.

The tournament would also be helpful in giving the players the much needed top level exposure.

Sri Devi and Segar triumph

Sri Devi Kabaddi Club clinched the men's kabaddi title at the Selangor Tamil Bell Youth Club Council championships at Batu Caves today.

Sri Devi overcame a tentative start to romp past the Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn 26-7 in the final. They led 13-5 after the first half.

Earlier in the semi-finals, Sri Devi were easy winners over Kg Pandan Lions.

Pasum Ponn stunned Selayang in their semi-final match by adopting the right strategy of playing a more defensive game.

However, they were not able to repeat the same with the more experienced Sri Devi in the final. The win was a morale boost for Sri Devi, who lost in their last final appearance in Bukit Pelandok and their disqualification from the Kings of Kabaddi tournament.

Segar foiled a double for Sri Devi by winning the women's title. Segar beat Sri Devi, Sri Manjari and Brooklands in the single round robin competition.

Deputy Foreign Minister YB Kohilan Pillay gave away the prizes to the winners.

Click here for pictures from the tournament.

The Best for Bell

The Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn


The cream of the kabaddi teams in the country would be joined by several Indian expatriate teams at the the Selangor Tamil Youth Bell Club Council's kabaddi tournament this Sunday 29th November, 2009 in Batu Caves.

A total of 14 teams would participate in the men's competition and four in the womens competition at the tournament.

Sri Devi, Kg Pandan Lions, Selayang and the Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn A have been given the top billings in the men's competition.

The men's competition will see the winners taking home prize money of RM 800 while the second and third placed teams will win RM 500 and RM 300 respectively.

Of the four seeded teams, Selayang have been drawn in the toughest group, having in company Malaysia Nanban, Kg Pandan Tigers and Pasum Ponn B.

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.

The women's competition would be played in a round robin format with the top placed team declared winners.

The kabaddi competition is the highlight of the Tamil Festival organised by the Selangor Tamil Youth Bell Club Council.

Apart from kabaddi, several other programs in line with Tamil culture is also being conducted.


MEN
GROUP A: Sri Devi, Sandi Veeran, Segar, PKP Saroja X
GROUP B: Kg Pandan Lions, Damansara, Brooklands
GROUP C: Selayang, Malaysia Nanban, Kg Pandan Tigers, Pasum Ponn B
GROUP D: Pasum Ponn A, Paavi Naynar, PKP Saroja S

WOMEN
GROUP X: Sri Manjari, Segar, Brooklands, Sri Devi

Click this line to view the full match schedule.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA HAJI

Wishing all our Muslim friends a Selamat Hari Raya Haji.

GALA NIGHT INDEED!

The KAKL Gala Kabaddi Night turned out to be just that in a night of award presentations and music and dance.

To add luster to the night was the Deputy Foreign Minister YB Senator Tuan Kohilan Pillay.

Guests were entertained to a night of music and dance before various awards were presented to officials and players.

Former national Technical Chairman and a founder member of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia - V. Chandran - was presented with the Presidents Award for his contribution to the development of the game as a player and an an official.

KAKL deputy president L. Anbarasu was awarded the Merit Award for his contribution in the technical arena while former national captain and national women's coach R. Balamurugan was awarded the Merit Award for his contribution in the field of coaching.

K. Siva and L. Vishaleeny were picked as the Best Male and Female Players for the Year 2008.

Officials who passed the KAKL Level One Technical Officials Course were also given their credentials on the night.

Senator Kohilan in his speech, earlier commended the KAKL for their continuous efforts in developing the game by organising various kabaddi activities.

He also promised that he would ensure yearly grants from his Ministry to the KAKL for their activities.

He also congratulated the KAKL for their recent Runners up Award in the Sports Associations Category at the Federal Territory Sports For All Awards Ceremony.

More pictures from the Gala Night can be viewed here.

KAKL Honoured

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur was given a pleasant surprise when it was picked as the runner-up for Best Sports Association at the Majlis Anugerah Sukan Untuk Semua Wilayah Persekutuan last night.

The award was presented to KAKL president S.T. Arasu and Honorary Secretary R. Balamurugan during the function at the Equatorial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur by the Ketua Pegarah of the Ministry of Sports (Youth and Sports Division) Dato Haji Fathul Razi bin Haji Bakri.

The award comprised of a certificate, a trophy and RM 3,000 in cash award.



The FT Silat Association was picked as the best association while the KL Wushu Federation was adjudged as the third placed association.

KAKL president S.T. Arasu said that the award was a timely boost for the association.

"It is a vindication of the good work we have been doing to promote the sport," said Arasu.

He added that the recognition goes a long way in proving wrong the detractors of the association, who have been sabotaging the association.

"We are perhaps the only state association which has been completely ignored and victimised by the national body, but we have proven once again that good work is indeed recognised," he added.

KAKL, has perhaps the best kabaddi team in the country, having won the Sukma last year.

"We are confident of repeating the feat in Malacca next year," he said.

BELL CLUB TOURNAMENT

The Tamil Youth Bell Club Council Selangor is organising an Indian sports and cultural carnival on November 29th 2009 in Batu Caves.

They are also conducting a kabaddi tournament during the carnival. The format of the competition, either knockout or League cum knockout, would be decided on the closing date on November 22, 2009.

The competition is open to all teams and is for both men and women. Entry fees are RM 100 for men and RM 50 for women. Teams would be provided with lunch.

Prize money are RM 800, RM 500 and RM 300 for men and RM 300, RM 200, RM 100 for women.

Entry Forms are available for download here.

KAKL Dinner

Arrangements for the KAKL Gala Dinner is in full swing. Deputy Foreign Minister YB Senator Kohilan Pillay would be the guest of honour.

Also in attendance would be officials from the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan and Jabatan Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan.

The dinner would feature performance from members as well as guest artistes. Awards for the Best players would also be presented during the dinner.

Dinner tables are available for RM 1000 (Platinum) and RM 500 (Gold)

The dinner documents are attached here and here.

Massacre in Vietnam

The Asian Indoor Games started a couple of days ago and many of us were wondering whether Malaysia was represented at the Games in Hanoi.

Well we were definitely represented at the Games by a team of six players. The Asian Indoor Games is a five a side tournament with a 80kg weight limit.

The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) does not have any selection criteria and the national association was allowed to send a team at their own cost.

While the Games itself is not a major priority for the OCM, the national association is expected to send their best team.

As KAKL is not privy to the inner workings of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM), we are not sure of how the selection process was done. The KAM after all has never conducted a single open tournament this year to base the team selections on.

However, the KAM using their best judgements picked these six players to the tournament

1. Gabriel Johnson ,64 kg, 19 years old
2. K. Anatharaju ,78kg, 30 years old
3. V. Aritaran ,75kg, 19 years old
4. Jeevan Raman ,79kg, 25 years old
5. S. Thiagu ,58kg, 18 years old
6. Jegankumar Balamurugan ,62kg, 18 years old


The team was drawn in the same group with Bangladesh, Iran and Thailand.

The other group was made up of Sri Lanka, India, Korea and Vietnam

And how did the team do in Hanoi. This are the scores

Bangladesh beat Malaysia 75-50
Iran beat Malaysia 80-19
Thailand beat Malaysia 84-45

Iran and Bangladesh qualified for the semi-finals from the group while India and Sri Lanka qualified from the other group.

Based on these results, Malaysia would be placed dead last in the eight team competition. This is because Malaysia ended up with a -125 points disadvantage in their group while the other groups last placed team Vietnam has a -101 disdavantage.

We have created two polls for you to cast your votes in regards to the Asian Indoor Games.

KL ready to defend title

The 2010 SUKMA in Melaka will feature 34 sports after nine more sports were approved by the SUKMA Supreme Council that met on Thursday.

The meeting which was chaired by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek today included formula future, canoe, golf, rugby 7s, volleyball (beach and indoor), kabaddi, judo, fencing, synchronized swimming and water polo to the list of 18 compulsory sports and seven of the host's choice.

The inclusion of kabaddi at the Games means that Kuala Lumpur would have a chance to defend the gold medal we won at the last Games in Terengganu.

In Terengganu, kabaddi was only a demonstration sport and KL cemented their position as the best state team.

Next years SUKMA would be held from June 10-19.

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would start their preparation for the games after discussing the training programme with the relevant authorities including the Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan and also the Jabatan Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan.

KAKL is confident of retaining the gold medal as most of the city players have been in constant training and playing in regular competition.

How to chose the right player

We have always wondered on how to pick players based on their optimum physical attributes.

The article below is a study done on the Indian kabaddi players from the 1990 Asian Games winning squad.

We believe the article is relevant for both coaches and players.

Have run reading it.

Morphological and physiological studies on Indian national kabaddi players.

Kabaddi article

The article below may be helpful for those wanting to look into scientific aspects of the game of kabaddi.

Click on the title and you can access the full article.

Impact of Nutrition Intervention Programme on Performance of High School Kabaddi Players.

Christmas in Faridabad

The city kabaddi team would be spending their Christmas in Faridabad India this year.

The team has been invited to participate in the Rajiv Gandhi Kabaddi Championships in Faridabad from Dec 25-27.

Teams from a number of countries are expected to play at the tournament being staged in memory of the seventh Prime Minister of India.

The KAKL hopes to pick a strong team for the championships although a couple of key players are currently nursing injuries.

The first phase of training is expected to start this weekend For more information please contact the KAKL secretary.

KABADDI SHORT MOVIE

The film is about the challenges faced by a group of young child laborers, from a rural background, when they decide to compete in Kabaddi competition. This movie portrays the problems children face due to the lack of education

OUR GREETINGS

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Dinner and Dance

The KAKL Gala Kabaddi Night would be held on November 21, 2009 at the Kompleks Sukan Bandar Tun Razak from 8.00pm.

The dinner and dance function is part of the KAKL's effort to raise funds for its activities. Deputy Foreign Minister YB Senator Kohilan Pillay is the guest of honour for the dinner function.

Awards to KAKL's best players in 2008 and 2009 would be handed to the various winners during the night.

Special dance and song presentations would further highlight the event.

Platinum tables are being sold at RM 1,000 while Gold tables at RM 500.

Those interested in attending the function can contact the KAKL at klkabaddi@gmail.com or call KAKL secretary R. Balamurugan at 012 2179577.

KAKL Knockout Cup

The KAKL Knockout Cup quarter-final stages would be held on October 25th, 2009. The venue would be confirmed soon.

All teams that had qualified for the quarter-finals are requested to get prepared for the matches.

The draw for both the men's and women's categories would be held this Sunday and would be posted in this site for your reference.

Meanwhile, all Premier League Kabaddi matches for the month of October has been cancelled in view of the Deepavali celebrations as well as the school examinations.

MEETING

There will be a meeting for all Premier League Kabaddi managers as follows:

Date: Tuesday 29th September 2009
Time: 8.00pm
Venue: Puchong 14th Mile Temple Hall

Attendance is compulsory for all managers.

The KAKL sub committee meeting on the KAKL dinner and also the International Inter City Kabaddi championships would be held immediately after the managers meeting.

DATES TO LOOK FORWARD

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur Gala Dinner would be held on November 21, 2009.

The dinner being held to help raise some much needed funds for the association would also see several state awards being presented.

More details of the event would be released next week.

Another important event in the works is the 2nd International Inter City Kabaddi Championships. The event is tentatively scheduled from December 18-20. More details on the event including participating teams would be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

Wishing Selamat Hari Raya to all our muslim friends.

SEGAR OFF THE BLOCK

Segar finally got off the blocks in the Premier League Kabaddi men's competition at the Batu Caves Grounds.

The perennial losers finally notched up a win in the competition with a 85-37 win over a depleted Tamillan Juniors today.

The Juniors paid the price for not fielding their best team against the much improved Segar.

Segar took full advantage of the opponents problems to pick up five lonas enroute to the thumping win.

In an earlier match, Segar had lost 28-86 to Selayang. Selayang also beat Kampong Pandan Tigers 62-36 in their first match.

Selayang got off to a slow start in their match against The Tigers, but pocked enough firepower to subdue their opponents.

The two wins saw Selayang moving within two points of table toppers Sri Devi Dragons.

The Dragons, who did not play today, are the only unbeaten team in the competition.

The two teams look likely of finishing the league in the same position although both teams have six more matches each to play.

Selayang's only loss in the competition was at the hands of the Dragons.

In the women's competition, only one match was played with Sri Manjari running away with a comfortable 87-11 win over Segar Shines.

A number of matches in the PLK was postponed as mark of respect to the demise of the fathers of two players from the Sri Devi and Tamillan teams.

The PLK would resume with the next round of matches on September 27 at the Kayu Ara Grounds.

PLK SCHEDULE UPDATED

The next round of the Premier League Kabaddi would be held on 6th September 2009 at the Batu Caves grounds.

The KAKL is trying to finish up with the backlog of matches first and have scheduled the following matches for the day.

Please take note of the changes made from the earlier schedule.

Tamillan Kabaddi would not be playing any matches on Sunday as a mark of respect to the passing away of Mr Balakrishnan's father. Three members of the family are playing in the Tamillan Kabaddi team.

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest condolences to the family.


THE FIXTURES
6th September 2009
Men
9.30am: Sri Devi Dragons vs Sri Devi Tigers
10.30am: Segar vs Tamillan Juniors
11.30am: Kg Pandan Tigers vs Selayang
12.30pm: Sri Devi Tigers vs Tamillan Juniors
3.30pm: Selayang vs Segar

Women
1.30pm: Segar Shines vs Sri Manjari
2.30pm: Sri Devi Princess vs Sri Devi Angels
4.30pm: Segar Brights vs Sri Devi Princess

KAKL officials recognised

Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) president S.T. Arasu has been appointed as the Technical Delegate of the inaugural International Kabaddi League to be held in Siddarthanagar, Nepal from September 11-15.

More than 25 teams from around the world would be taking part in the tournament which would feature competitions in National Style, Beach Kabaddi as well as Circle Kabaddi.


As the Technical Delegate, Arasu would be in charge of the smooth running of the competition. This is the second time that Arasu has been appointed as a Technical Delegate for an international tournament. He was also the Technical Delegate for the Islamabad SAF Games in 2004.

He is also expected to conduct an international Technical Course during his stay in Nepal. Technical Officials from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Ireland and England are among those expected to attend the course.

KAKL’s L. Anbarasu has also been appointed as one of the neutral referees for the tournament.


The International Kabaddi League would be held at the Army Grounds in Siddarthanagar. Siddarthanagar situated in Lumbhini is also the birthplace of Gautama Buddha.

BRIGHTS OUTSHINE ANGELS

Segar Brights shot up to the top of the Premier League Kabaddi women’s standings with a thumping 87-29 win over Sri Devi Angels at the Kampong Pandan Grounds on Sunday.

The win saw the Brights claim top position ahead of Sri Devi Princess although both teams are tied on eight points apiece.

The Brights, however, top table on better differential scoring rate compared to the Princess.

The Princess picked up a 66-44 win over Sri Manjari in their match to maintain their unbeaten streak in the competition.

The Princess also have a match in hand over the Brights and could reclaim their position at the top next week.

In the men’s competition, Selayang kept up their chase for the title with a hard earned 31-29 win over a resurgent Kampong Pandan Lions.

The match between the two sides could have gone either way with both teams exchanging leads several times.

Only one point separated both teams until the very last raid of the game, but the Lions failed to pick up the crucial tying point.

The Lions have gone from strength to strength in the league and are beginning to show that they would be a handful to the other title contenders.

However, their poor run in the early stages of the league may have paid put to their hopes of winning the title.

In an earlier match, Selayang defeated Damansara 86-20.

Despite the two wins, Selayang still trail table toppers Sri Devi Dragons in the points standings. The Dragons lead the table with 20 points ahead of Selayang with 14.

While the Dragons did not play on Sunday, their second team Sri Devi Tigers carved out an easy 85-39 win over Segar. The win ensured that the Dragons remained in third spot in the points table.

Segar were unlucky to lose 56-58 to Damansara in another match. Despite leading by four points in the closing stages of the game, Segar lost composure in the closing stages and were denied their first win the competition.

RESULTS
MEN
Damansara bt Segar 58-56; Selayang bt Damansara 86-20; Selayang bt Kampong Pandan Lions 31-29; Sri Devi Tigers bt Segar 85-39.

WOMEN
Segar Brights bt Sri Devi Angels 87-29; Sri Devi Princess bt Sri Manjari 66-44

PICTURES FROM THE TOURNAMENT ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FROM
http://picasaweb.google.com/klkabaddi UNDER THE FILE NAME LEAGUE WEEK NINE

MERDEKA!

The executive committee of the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur would like to extend our Merdeka Greetings to everyone.

PLK RESUMES

The Premier League Kabaddi will resume this weekend on Sunday 30th August, 2009 after a long break due to the participation of teams at various other tournaments.

The League would resume using the schedule for August 9th. Please take note of the changes. A full revision of the schedule would be made to take into account of the various delays in the PLK and would be posted on this site as well as the PLK website after August 30th.

Meanwhile, the first stage of the disciplinary inquiry on the fracas between Sri Devi Dragons and Arasai at the Kings of Kabaddi is still ongoing and a final decision on the matter would be made next week.

Players involved in both teams are allowed to continue playing at this weeks tournament. Any sanction against players would be announced next week and would be only effective from next week.



AUGUST 30th Revised Schedule.
MEN
09:30 AM: Tamilan v Selayang
10:30 AM: Damansara v Segar
11:30 AM: KP Lions v Juniors
12:30 PM: Tamilan v Segar
01:30 PM: Damansara v Selayang
02:30 PM: SD Tigers v Juniors


WOMEN
3.30 PM: Manjari vs Segar Shines
4.30 PM: Segar Brights v SD Angels
5:30 PM: Segar Shines v SD Princess

MERDEKA DAY KABADDI

The Kuala Selangor MIC Sports Bureau is organising the Merdeka Day Kabaddi Tournament for men and women on 31st August 2009 at the Sri Subramaniar Alayam Field, 2nd Mile, Kuala Selangor.

The tournament is open to all teams and the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur is encouraging all teams to participate.

Entry fees is at RM 100 per team and prize money is being awarded to the top three winners of both the men's and women's competition.

For further information, please contact the organisers at 016-2152513 or 016-3710844.

HAPPY VINAYAGAR CHATURTHI

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The executive committee of the KAKL would like to wish all our friends lots of good fortune this coming Vinayagar Chaturthi.

Rule Clarification

During the recent kabaddi tournament organised by the Malaysian Indian Heritage Association at the Kayu Ara Grounds, teams participating at the Premier League Kabaddi made a clean sweep of the top three positions.

Sri Devi finished champions ahead of Selayang. Damansara finished third after Sivasangkari failed to play the third place playoff.

There were a number of rules that were disputed by the some teams. We would like to highlight a couple of the disputed rules.

1. Whether the bonus point can be awarded after touch or struggle during the tie-breaker or sudden death or what is now known as the golden rule?

The answer is an emphatic NO.

The rules are clear on this instance.
The first section to understand is in the situation is:
• The existing bonus line will no longer be effective. Instead the baulk line would be treated as the Baulk cum Bonus Line. All the bonus line rules shall be applicable on the baulk line.

The second section that clarifies this is:
• Point would only be awarded if the Bonus Line is crossed before the touch or struggle.

So any dispute raised by the teams on this issue is wrong.

The second is a situation when a raider after a successful raid falls at the midline with his body on both sides of the court. The opposing raider makes a raid during this time, crosses the midline, touches the fallen player and goes back to his court. Was the decision to award one point for each team correct?

The answer to this is a YES.

The reason is simple, the first raider was given out because at the point when the opponent started his raid, the first raider was out of bounds.
The rule on this is:
• When a Raid is on, the anti/s shall not touch the Raiders court (including the lobbies). The anti/s who violates this Rule shall be declared out while the raid is allowed to continue.

The opposing raider was also given out because, the he did not make a successful raid. The first raider was already out of bounds and the opposing raider did not cross the baulk line before crossing back to his court.

KL Clubs triumph at MPPJ Open

News report from the Makkal Osai on the results of the MPPJ Kabaddi Open

Resumption delayed

The Premier League Kabaddi scheduled to resume this weekend has been postponed at the requests from the teams as well as the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

The MBPJ is organising their annual kabaddi open and have requested the assistance of the KAKL in postponing the PLK to allow the the teams to participate in the tournament.

The request was made through a letter dated 3rd August Ref No. (13) MBPJ/KAB/2009.

The tournament organising secretary Mr Muthukumar in his letter indicated that the MBPJ would not be able to postpone their tournament due to the coming fasting month.

In view of the request, and as KL based teams were winners at the last few editions of the tournament, the PLK would be be postponed to the following week.

PLK TO RESUME

After more than a months break, the Premier League Kabaddi would resume on August 9, 2009 at the Kayu Ara Grounds in Damansara.

The Damansara Kabaddi Club would be the hosts for the day.

Please take note of the revised schedule.

August 9, 2009
MEN
09:30 AM: Tamilan v Selayang
10:30 AM: Damansara v Segar
11:30 AM: KP Lions v Juniors
12:30 PM: Tamilan v Segar
01:30 PM: Damansara v Selayang
02:30 PM: SD Tigers v Juniors

WOMEN
4:00 PM: Damansara v SD Angels
5:00 PM: Segar Shines v SD Princess

Meanwhile the KAKL Disciplinary Committee is expected to begin its investigations into the problems during the Arasai (ASC) Kings of Kabaddi and would finalise its action before 9th August 2009.

CHEATERS ROYALE!

Guess what? Perlis finished second in the kabaddi event at the National Traditional Sports Carnival in Ipoh.

Suprised? Well don't be! Perlis does not have team at the competition. The Perlis team at the tournament is actually the Kampar team in disguise.

That a team from Kampar actually made it to the final goes to show just how low the standard of kabaddi at the grassroots is now.

That Perlis cannot even put up a team of its own goes to show just who are the chief culprits in the decline.

The President, Deputy President and the Honorary Secretary of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM) all come from the same state of Perlis that have stooped so low to put up these masquerade.

Worse still is that the officials who should be upholding the spirit of sportsmanship have just set us an example of how to be a cheat.

Well, we have to extend yet another round of kudos to these Knights in their shining armour for their nobility.

DENIED!

Kuala Lumpur kabaddi team, the red hot favourites - were denied the chance to play at the National Traditional Games Carnival by clever manipulation of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia officials.

Appended herewith is the chronology of the events leading to the KL teams being denied the right to play at the carnival.

23th July 2009
Neither the Federal Territory Sports Department nor the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) were given the schedule and the tournament rules for the kabaddi event. It is pertinent to note that the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM) took over the technical running of the event just over a week before the event. Kabaddi was included at the carnival through the efforts of the KAKL.
The Technical Head for the Carnival was informed that the KL kabaddi team would arrive in Ipoh after 8.00pm on 24th July 2009.

24th July 2009
The KL kabaddi team left from Puchong at 5.00pm and went on to pick up more players enroute to Ipoh.
At 5.30pm officials from the FT Sports Department called the KAKL president informing him that they were just told that there was a weight check for players going on at 6.00pm.
As we were not informed earlier of this, the FT Sports Department informed the KAM Technical Committee of the same and were told that they would wait for the KL team to arrive for the weight check later that night.
The Technical Head of the Carnival was also informed of the late arrival and he too had informed the KAM Technical Committee, getting similar answers.
At approximately, the bus the KL team was travelling broke down and the information was relayed to both the FT Sports Department as well as the Technical Head of the Carnival.
Both the FT Sports Department and the Technical Head informed the KAM Technical Committte of the delay and were told by the KAM Technical Committee that it was not a problem.
KL Officials were informed by the FT Sports Department as well as the Technical Head of the Carnival that the KAM Technical Committee had already indicated that it was not a problem and they would wait.
At approximately 9.30pm, the KAM Technical Committee despite their early assurance ot the FT Sports Department as well as the Technical Head of the Carnival decided to propose that the KL team to be kicked out of the competition at the managers meeting.
The proposal was made after the FT Sports Department Head had left the meeting area and after being informed that the delay was not an issue.
No attempt was made by the KAM Technical Committee to contact the FT Sports Department nor the team manager of the KL Kabaddi team when the decision was made.
Information of the decision was relayed to the KAKL officials by one of the team managers who attended the meeting.
Upon receiving the information, the matter was quickly relayed to the FT Sports Department by the KAKL officials. Th FT Sports Department quickly contacted the KAM Technical Committte but they refused to change the decision. The matter was than relayed to the Assistant Director of the Sports Ministry in charge of the Carnival.
Her intervention was only met by quick rebuff from the KAM Technical Committee.
The KL team arrived at the venue after repairs to the bus at approximately at 10.10pm and were informed by the FT Sports Department of the sly manner by which the KAM Technical conspired to stop the KL team from taking part at the event.
After discussion with the FT Sports Department, the kabaddi team decided not to make any protest with the event organisers.
The FT Sports Department officials had informed us that it was evident from the onset that the KAM was totally against the KL team and were looking for excuses after excuses to stop the team and that the decision at the managers meeting was clever manipulated.

25th July 2009
The KL team members than went for diner at midnight and checked into the hotel at 1.30am. The team were back at the venue at 7.30am in the morning and displayed upmost sportsmanship by mingling around with members of the various other sports contingents.
After further discussion with various officials of the Sports Ministry, the team left for KL at 12.30pm.

Despite the high and mighty way the KAM Technical Committee conducted themselves, the running of the event by the KAM was but mediocre.

1. The weight check was to have started at 6.00pm but did not take place until 7.00pm.
2. While the event was changed from Open age and weight category to Under-23 by the KAM just over a week before the tournament, the rule was hardly enforced by the KAM Technical Committee. Teams like Sarawak and Perak all played with at least one over weight player.
3. No assistant scorers were used.
4. While there were whiteboards available on both courts, no scoreboard assistants were used to indicate ongoing results.
5. No effort was made by the Technical Committee to update finished results in the main Results Board. All other sports were updating these results as soon as any matches ended with the exception of kabaddi.

The KAKL would like to extend a BIG CONGRATULATIONS AND HURRAY to the KAM for their great effort in promoting the game to other communities as well as encouraging youngsters to play the game through the excellent and professional way of handling the National Sports Carnival kabaddi event.

BOYCOTT AVERTED

The Federal Territory Sports Department had decided to withdraw one of the state kabaddi teams from the National Level Traditional Sports Carnival in Ipoh starting tomorrow.

The decision was made in protest of the KAM's decision to change the age category for the event from open to Under-20 at the eleventh hour.

However, KAKL requested that both the boys and girls team from the state to be allowed to play at the carnival for the sake of sportsmanship and the development of the game in a holistic manner in the country.

A new team has been selected with less than 48 hours notice and the team would leave for Ipoh today despite not having a single full training session.

Despite the setback, we are still confident of doing well at the carnival.


TEAMS LISTS
GIRLS:
SHANTHI A/P ANBARASU
SUBAH A/PSUKUMARAN
MAGESWARY A/L NADARAJAH
LETCHUMI A/P BASKARAN
PRASULAVATHY A/P MANOGARAN
JEEVAJOTHI A/P CHANDRALINGAM
VICNESWARY A/P RAVENDRAN
ABBHIRAMY A/P RAVINDRA RAJAH
PAVITHIRA A/P NARAYANASAMY
HEERASHINI A/P VISVANATHAN

BOYS:
THINESH A/L KRISNAMOORTHE
THANAGARAN A/L PERUMAL
BHARATH KUMAR A/L KARNAN
SHIVA A/L CHANDRAN
GANES PRABU A/L BENJAMIN
KARUNAGARAN A/L SANDAR
INTHIRAN A/L GUNASEKHARAN
CHANDRA SEGAR A/L KRISHNAN MURUTHY
POOVENTHIRAN A/L K.MAHENDRA
THEVENTHIRAN A/L GOVINDARAJOO

OFFICIALS
SIVA A/L KRIHNAN
ANBARASU A/L LETCHUMANAN

MEDIA RELEASE

Below is the press release from the KAKL on issue relating to the victimisation of Kuala Lumpur players by the KAM.


KUALA LUMPUR PLAYERS VICTIMISED


Kuala Lumpur, despite being one of the most active states in developing kabaddi in the country, has been left out of the National Under-20 kabaddi championships to be held in Johor Bahru early next month.

Kuala Lumpur has fallen victim to the political game played by certain key officials of the Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM).

At the KAM council meeting held last Sunday, members were informed that the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) were no longer affiliates of the KAM and were not eligible to participate in the competition.

The statement was made by the Deputy President of the KAM, Maniam Manikkam, during the meeting in the absence of the president.

The alleged de-affiliation of the KAKL has been done without any reference or adherence to the KAM constitution.

KAKL sees this as clear case of conspiracy and retaliation against the KAKL for questioning the supposititious decisions made by the KAM in the past.

KAKL feels that the travesty laid upon the players was uncalled for and was made with malice.

This is not the first time that certain KAM officials have sabotaged the development of the sport in Kuala Lumpur.

Attempts were made to stop the KL team from participating at the last Presidents Cup competition held in Kangar two years ago. The KAKL successfully unveiled the web of deceit and went on to win the title for the second year running.

Despite being the national champions, not a single Kuala Lumpur player was selected to the last Asian Indoor Games in Macau. KAKL had lodged a report on this matter with the Sports Commissioners Office.

Due to some quick action from the Sports Commissioner, the KAM agreed to call up KL players to the selection trials. But that turned out to be a lie as no new selection trials were held by the national body.

The KAKL had also lodged another report against the KAM two years ago for suspending the KAKL as well an affiliated club and a number of KL players.

Following investigation by the Sports Commissioner, the KAM was found to be guilty and the illegal suspension was lifted immediately with an apology to the KAKL.

Despite numerous attempts by the KAKL to get our events to be sanctioned by the KAM, no reply was given to almost all of our letters.

The only exception was when the KAKL applied for sanction to conduct the International Inter City Kabaddi Championships last year. But that letter came a good six months after an application was made.

Within two weeks of giving out the approval letter, the same KAM officials went out of their way to sabotage the event by asking other affiliates to boycott the tournament.

Despite failing to reply to any of our queries and applications, these officials have continued to sabotage other events conducted by the KAKL.

The KAKL has organised the Rakan Muda Challenge, Rakan Muda Grasscourt Challenge, City Day Kabaddi, Kings of Kabaddi and the ongoing Premier League Kabaddi apart from the various other technical and coaching activities.

KAKL officials namely the Deputy President Maniam Manikkam and vice-president S. Sathasivam have been personally involved in this act of sabotage.

KAKL had also lodged a police report against the KAM Deputy President earlier this year.

Maniam also tried to stop KL based teams from participating at the Negri Sembilan Open last month on the pretext that KAKL was under suspension. When asked for prove of suspension by the organisers, the teams were allowed to play and Maniam even stayed back to give away the medals to the winners.

Last December, the KAM failed to invite the KAKL to their general meeting. A report was again lodged with the Sports Commissioners Office.

On the 16th February, 2009, the Sports Commissioner gave the KAM 14 days to resolve the issue.

On February 23, the KAM president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim in a press statement said that the KAKL would be called for a meeting immediately to resolve the problem.

That was a good five months ago and the KAKL is still awaiting the meeting to be called.

The KAKL also lodged a complaint with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Arbitration Tribunal on March 9, 2009. But sadly the Tribunal has yet to act on the matter.

The KAKL is saddened by the attitude of the sports officials involved in the sport.

It is pertinent to note that as a national body the KAM had not conducted any national level senior competitions for the past five years.

The only competition conducted by the KAM in the past two years was Sukma last year. Kuala Lumpur won the gold medal at the demonstration event held under the auspices of the National Sports Council.

The National Under-20 is the first internal event to be conducted by the KAM since the Presidents Cup (Under-23) in mid 2007.

No Technical or Coaching courses has been conducted in almost two years by the KAM.

Although the Asian Indoor Games is due later this year and the Asian Games is due to be held next year, the KAM has yet to even look into the selection and training of the national team.

The last three participation by Malaysian teams at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau, the Asian Beach Games in Bali and the Asian Women’s Championships in Madurai all finished in disastrous fashion for Malaysia.

Malaysia even suffered the ignominy of losing to newcomers Indonesia in Bali. The poor run by Malaysian teams was mainly caused by poor selection process and also haphazard training programmes.

Despite sending a team to the Asian Beach Games, the KAM has never conducted a single local tournament nor have they conducted any technical courses for beach kabaddi in Malaysia.

The selections for the teams to Bali and Chennai were also dubious as states were allowed to send only two players for trials. This despite the fact that some states did not have a single women player with them.

The bulk of the better women players on the country come from Selangor, Negri Sembilan and KL and the decision was not made in the best interest of the game.

Last year, the KAKL had offered to host the Presidents Cup and also create a National Under-15 tournament but after almost a year, the KAM has yet to reply to our request.

The KAKL is concerned with the unprofessional way the KAM is conducting its activities and would like to call upon the top leaders of the association to quit immediately for the benefit of the development of the sport in the country.

The top officials in the KAM have not only failed to develop the game properly but have also set out to sabotage the activities conducted by those questioning their lackadaisical and totally unprofessional way they manage the association.

Nepal Kabaddi official drops by

KAKL president S.T. Arasu and deputy president L. Anbarasu had the pleasure of meeting up with Nepal Kabaddi Associations Mr Naresh Gautam and Nepal Olympic Associations Mr Deep Raj Gurung for dinner last week.

Mr Gurung and Mr Naresh were the chef-de-mission and deputy chef-de-mission of the Nepal contingent to the Asian Youth Games.

They caught up with the KAKL officials and a couple of other friends over dinner to catch up on old times as well as to discuss about the development of kabaddi in Asia.

SCREWUP BY KAM

The Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM), as predicted by the KAKL, is in the midst of creating a major screwup with the organisation of the kabaddi competition at the National Traditional Sports Carnival in Ipoh from 24-26 July, 2009.

The KAM after their non involvement in the inclusion of the kabaddi event at the carnival is now trying to change the rules of the competition for no concrete reasons.

Kabaddi was included in the carnival through the efforts of the KAKL and the KAKL officials went around the country conducting workshops on kabaddi.

The KAM which insisted that they would provide the technical officials for the finals in Ipoh are now attempting to convert the tournament from an open category to an Under-20 event.

The reason given was that they were unable to manage older players whom they have labelled as undisciplined and prone to injuries.

The attempt has already been given a clear rebuff by several state sports departments including the Jabatan Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan.

It is learnt that the Kabaddi Association of Negri Sembilan has even lodged in an official protest to their state sports department.

KAM's position in this matter is rather baffling as the tournament was organised by the Ministry of Sports to promote the sports among all communities and not designed to be an elite level competition. It was to assist in promote discipline and healthy living.

An official that the KAKL spoke to commented that if the KAM was unable to control older players than they might as well disband the association.

The move by KAM defies logic because most states have already conducted their state selection trials and selected the players based on the original rules. The KAM are now attempting to change horses midstream.

The FT sports department is learnt to have already indicated that they would not send any Under-20 teams to the tournament.

The KAKL has these questions to ask the KAM

1. Where were the KAM all these months when the KAKL worked to include the sport in the carnival?

2. When was the last open tournament conducted by the KAM to label older players indisciplined?

3. What is the true rational behind trying to change the rules of the event when they were only asked to help in officiating?

4. Is the rules being redefined because states that control the KAM like Perlis and Kedah does not have senior teams?

5. If the KAM has any intention of sending a strong team (not tourists) to the Asian Indoor Games later this year, won't an open tournament help them to identify the strongest players?

This is certainly another major SCREW-UP by KAM.

EXPERIMENTAL SIDE

Kg Pandan Lions raider S. Vijendran among the newcomers in the squad

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) have opted for an experimental men's team for the National Level Traditional Sports Carnival in Ipoh from 24-26 July, 2009.

Several regulars have been dropped from the team to allow newer players the chance to show their talents at the competition.

The competition, is not among the priority tournaments for the KAKL although it was included at the carnival through the efforts of the association.

Despite, sending an experimental side, the KAKL is still confident that the team would be able to challenge for the gold medal at the carnival.

For the womens, the KAKL has opted to send their best side for the tournament. Almost all of the women's players would be playing at a national level competition for the first time.

Like the men's the KAKL is also confident that the state women's team has the ability to win the title.


MEN'S TEAM
1. VICNESWARAN A/L KARNASAN
2. HARITHARAN A/L SANKARAN
3. VIJENDRAN A/L SAPHAPATHY
4. VINOTH A/L CHANDRAN
5. KANDASAMY A/L SUBRAMANIAM
6. DHARMENDRA A/L PANNIR SELVAM
7. LOGANATHAN A/L SOOSAY
8. PARAMASIVAM A/L GOVINCHA SAMY
9. NAGALINGAM A/LTHANGVELLOO
10. SYRESH A/L SUBRAMANIAM


WOMEN'S TEAM:
1. SHANTHI A/P ANBARASU
2. VISHAALENNY A/P SUBRAMANIAM
3. PRABAVATHY A/P PANNESELVAM
4. MALARKODEE A/P MUNIANDY
5. LETCHUMI A/P BASKARAN
6. DEVI A/P KELIANSENDRAM
7. GEETA A/P KNMAR
8. VICNESWARY A/P RAVENDRAN
9. HARISINI A/P MATHIALAGAN
10. PAVITHIRA A/P NARAYANASAMY

OFFICIALS
1. BALAKRISHNAN A/L SUBRAMANIAM
2. ANBARASU A/L LETCHUMANAN

Kabaddi in Argentina

Kabaddi is alive an thriving in Argentina. The KAKL received this pictures from our friends at the Argentina Kabaddi Association.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

UNSCHEDULED BREAK

The Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) has decided to take an unschedule break for the Premier League Kabaddi this month.

All match weeks for scheduled for both the PLK and the Knockout Cup would be postponed to new dates.

The decision was made in consideration to the high ratio of injury to players over the last two months and also to allow the best players are available for the National Level Traditional Sports Carnival as well as the National Under-20 kabaddi championships.

The new dates for these tournaments would be announced soon.

PELANDOKS RULES

Bukit Pelandok were worthy winners of the Arasai (ASC) Kings of Kabaddi championships held at the Kelab Sukan DBKL in Brickfields on Sunday.

The Negri Sembilan side played a disciplined game to upset second seeds Selayang A 41-36 in a closely fought finals.

Selayang were let down by their poor fitness level with at least three of their players suffering from cramps in the physically demanding final.

Former international Mohandas played a pivotal role in Bukit Pelandok’s victory. He was adjudged as the Best Player of the Tournament for his commanding role both in defence and attack.

Bukit Pelandok final appearance was also aided by the disqualification of top seeds Sri Devi Dragons and Arasai (ASC). The two teams were booted out of the competition for indiscipline.

Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay gave away the medals to the winners. Bukit Pelandok took home RM 1, 500 for their efforts while Selayang took home RM 1,000.

Third place went to a resurgent Kampong Pandan Lions, who were given a walkover in the third place playoff, by the Indian expatriate team of Pasum Ponn.

In the semi-finals held earlier in the day, Selayang romped past Pasum Ponn 27-12 while Bukit Pelandok eked out a narrow 23-20 win over the Lions.

There were also plenty of other surprises in the competition, especially the defeat of Tamillan Kabaddi by Kg Pandan Tigers. Kg Pandan Tigers clinched their first ever win in any competition this year with a 33-31 win over the Tamillans.

Speaking before the prize presentation, Senator Kohilan commended the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL) for their efforts in bringing together top teams from various states for the championships.

“It is evident form today’s great final that kabaddi is a physically and mentally demanding game. I am made to understand that kabaddi is not in the SUKMA and would assist in any way I can to help the association to get the game recognised,” said Kohilan.

In the women’s competition, top seeds Sri Devi Princess were lucky to have defeated a determined Segar 44-43. Both teams were level on 39 points each after regulation time.

The match went to sudden death and the Princess squeezed out an extra point in their very last raid to foil a devastated Segar side.

Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi gave away the medals to the women’s winners.

Earlier in the morning, Federal Territory Sports Council director M. Noor Azman officiated the opening ceremony of the event.

LEMBU PUNYA SUSU SAPI PUNYA NAMA

The National Level Traditional Sports Carnival would be held from 24th-26th July 2009 in Ipoh.

Kabaddi was included in the carnival through the efforts made by the Kabaddi Association of Kuala Lumpur (KAKL). The KAKL also assisted the Sports Ministry to conduct workshops for the event in Sabah, Sarawak, Northern region (Perak, Perlis, Kedah, Penang) as well as southern region (Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan).

KAKL's role at the tournament, however, would be confined to only the participation of the state men and women teams.

The Kabaddi Association of Malaysia (KAM), which had failed to make any effort to get the sport into the event, has now claimed their bragging right to conduct the tournament and would nominate all the technical officials for the tournament.

KAKL is surprised to note that the KAM has finally realised they have a bigger role to play in the development of kabaddi rather than just trumping their authority over trivial issues.

However as in the past, KAKL does not expect the KAM to be fair in their treatment of the KAKL.

We were already made to understand that the KAM deputy president Maniam Manikkam and his sidekick from Sg Petani, were quick off the blocks in running down the KAKL and its officials at the organising committee held in Putrajaya earlier today.

The KAKL also does not expect the KAM to have the courtesy to nominate any of the KL technical officials for the tournament. At the SUKMA last year, none of the KAKL qualified officials were picked while some states had more than half a dozen technical officials selected.

The KAKL hopes that the KAM does not make the efforts made by the KAKL to get the event off the ground by falsely proclaiming their non-existent role thus far.

The KAKL is nevertheless happy and proud in our effort to get kabaddi given due recognition at the national level carnival by the Sports Ministry.